Buy A Japanese Robo Kitty

By consumerist.comAugust 31, 2007

The Yume Neko Smile from Sega has gone on sale, which means you can now purchase your very own feline proxy.

When reached for comment, our girlfriend said, “I saw some toys like that at Nextfest last year and read about them. The Japanese are so damn weird. They’ve made those pets for people who cannot own pets for various reasons — so that they don’t get lonely and also because having a pet can be healing. But a robot pet? Not so sure…”

I’m thinking this would actually be a great idea for elderly folks who don’t necessarily have the resources or memory to take care of a ‘real’ pet. They take therapy animals into nursing homes – why not just give folks their own robot kitty to love on?

I bought the little chicken at the end for my wife as a gift, and we love it. It comes packaged in a big plastic egg and chirps and flaps its wings when you pick it up. It’s apparently huge in Japan (I ordered ours in April and it was backordered until earlier this moth), so it looks like they’re following up the line with more complex toys.

The voiceover makes me laugh (understood all but one bit), the price isn’t bad, and it might be a good way to introduce young children to the concept of a pet without the possibility of them hurting a real, living creature.